BREAKING NEWS: Kyle Schwarber Drops a True Bombshell — Makes Powerful Final Statement and Announces Plans to commit with the Reds
–Kyle Schwarber’s contract-crossroads and hometown allure
Kyle Schwarber, currently with the Philadelphia Phillies, is entering what may be a pivotal offseason for his career. Having signed a four-year, $79 million deal ahead of the 2022 season, he’s playing out the final year of that deal. ([That Balls Outta Here][1])
And yet – his future may not be in Philadelphia alone.
The hometown connection
Schwarber hails from Middletown, Ohio, which is within the greater Cincinnati area. That local link to the Reds has not been lost on fans or the organization. ([That Balls Outta Here][1])
In fact, in August 2025, the Reds orchestrated a first-pitch pre-game ceremony involving Schwarber’s father and youth coach when the Phillies visited Cincinnati — clearly a gesture to highlight the hometown ties. ([That Balls Outta Here][1])
Schwarber acknowledged the connection:
> “I’ve always said that at some point in your career, if you would ask the childhood Kyle what team you’d like to play for, it would be Cincinnati.”
Current performance and leverage
Schwarber is having one of his best seasons, putting up big power numbers, walks, and an OPS that’s turned heads. The fact that he does so at age 32 and primarily as a designated hitter gives him strong leverage in free agency.
His club in Philadelphia has said plainly they would love to keep him. From president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski:
“We would love to keep him as part of the organization for the long term, there’s no doubt.”
> And from managing partner John Middleton:
> “We want to keep him… we will do everything we can to keep him.”### What we *do* know about his mindset
While Schwarber has been complimentary of Philadelphia — the fans, the clubhouse, the organization — he has also made it clear that he will wait to see how everything plays out rather than locking in prematurely. For example:
> “To be honest with you, it’s probably something that you just wait till the end [of the season]. You just want to feel like you are pouring everything you have into your team and you don’t want to be distracted by anything else.”
He has not publicly committed to signing with the Reds or any team as of this writing.
—
## So why the “bombshell” narrative?
Some of the narrative around “Schwarber → Reds” is fueled by the hometown connection and speculation by fans and media alike. On Reddit, for example:
> “His contract with Phils expires at the end of this year. He’s from Middletown and grew up a Reds fan. He wants it but deserves to get paid.”
> That’s not a quotation from Schwarber himself, but rather fan hope and conjecture.
While the Reds clearly have interest in creating an emotional pitch and Schwarber has acknowledged the appeal, that is far from a confirmed deal or a declared decision.
—
## What to watch for next
Here are some key factors that will determine whether Schwarber winds up in Philadelphia, Cincinnati, or somewhere else entirely:
* **Contract length & price**: Many analysts project Schwarber will seek a multi-year deal at a high average annual value. Some suggest 4–5 years at $30 M+ per year, which could price out some teams.
* **Team fit & role**: As a DH with premium power, the market for Schwarber is somewhat niche. If a team is willing to commit long-term to a DH, it gives him options.
* **Intentions of both clubs**: The Phillies have said they *want* to keep him; whether they’re willing to meet his price remains to be seen. The Reds appear interested, but the financial realities and roster fit may complicate things.
* **Schwarber’s own priorities**: Does he value returning home over maximizing value? Does he want to remain in the Phillies setting where he’s thriving? His public comments suggest he’s open but non-committal.
At this point, Kyle Schwarber has **not** made the “final declaration” to commit to the Reds. What we *do* have is a perfect storm of elements: hometown affinity, elite performance, contract year leverage, and interest from multiple sides. That convergence naturally breeds headlines suggesting a “bombshell” is imminent — but until one is verified by Schwarber or a club, it remains speculation.
schwarber signals openness to his hometown Reds, but remains focused on finishing strong in Philly before deciding his next step.”*
We are still about week away from free agency at the earliest. And that’s only going to happen if there’s a sweep since free agency begins a day after the World Series comes to an end. Even when that happens true free agency doesn’t begin right away as teams have five days after that to have exclusive negotiations with to-be free agents who were with them in 2025. When those five days are up if players have not agreed to a new contract then they can become true free agents and negotiate with all teams unless they are extended a qualifying offer during that. I don’t remember the last time a player agreed to a new deal before testing the true free agent waters within that 5-day “exclusive negotiating” period of time.
This year the Cincinnati Reds have a few players who are set to become free agents at some point in the next two weeks. We’ve already taken a look at Miguel Andujar and Emilio Pagan in this series and today we’re going to look at starting pitcher Zack Littell.
The right-handed pitcher was acquired at the trade deadline in a move with the Tampa Bay Rays that saw Cincinnati bring Littell in and send out pitching prospects Adam Serwinowski and Brian Van Belle.
Zack Littell made 22 starts for the Rays before being traded. In that time he threw 133.1 innings with a 3.58 ERA. That was good for an ERA+ of 115, which is the ERA adjusted for the parks a guy has pitched in where 100 is league average – meaning Littell’s ERA was 15% better than the league average to that point.
After he joined Cincinnati he would go on to make another 10 starts for the Reds. He would throw 53.1 innings and post an ERA of 4.39. That was good for an ERA+ of 105. It was still above the league average, but not quite as good as his time with the Rays.
With both Tampa Bay and Cincinnati, Littell struggled to keep the ball in the park. He gave up 36 home runs on the season in his 186.2 innings. That was the second most home runs allowed in Major League Baseball in 2025. He threw more innings than most pitchers in baseball, which allowed him to give up a lot of homers, but when we look at pitchers with at least 100 innings in 2025 he was 9th in baseball in home runs allowed per 9-innings pitched.
Littell has never been a big strikeout pitcher, but in 2025 his strikeout rate was the lowest of his career in a season in which he pitched in more than 10 games. Where he does shine is his low walk rate. He’s among the stingiest pitchers in baseball when it comes to free passes, ranking 3rd among the 127 pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched this past season.
The Qualifying Offer
This year the qualifying offer in Major League Baseball is $22,025,000 for a 1-year contract.
Cincinnati made such an offer (at slightly lesser money) last offseason to Nick Martinez. He accepted it. He was the only player who accepted it in Major League Baseball in the offseason last year.
Zack Littell, like Nick Martinez, is not eligible for the qualifying offer. A team can’t offer it to a player who got one previously in their career (Martinez). They also can’t offer it to a player acquired via a trade during the most recent season (like Littell).
Should the Reds bring him back?
Cincinnati can’t make Littell a qualifying offer but nothing is stopping them from bringing him back on a new contract.
When the 2026 season begins Zack Littell will be 30-years-old and he’ll remain 30 all season long as he won’t turn 31 until October. In his big league career he’s made under $10,000,000. That means he’s likely going to be looking for the biggest deal he can get rather than take some sort of discount for one reason or another.
For Cincinnati the question is does it make sense to bring Littell back. One on hand they don’t “need” him to have five starting pitchers. Without Littell the team could fill out five spots from the group of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, Rhett Lowder, and Chase Burns as long as everyone is healthy. But we are also talking about pitchers and they don’t exactly tend to stay healthy for a full season.
Cincinnati had four starters throw at least 156.2 innings in 2025. One of those guys was Nick Martinez, but he’s also a free agent. With how bullpens are set up and used in the modern game and how often guys tend to get hurt in the era of velocity and spin there just aren’t as many guys who eat innings as there used to be. Littell has only had two seasons in his career as a full time starter and both have come in the last two years. In 2025 he threw more innings than all but 10 pitchers in the game. While it’s premature to call him an innings eater given he’s only topped 90 innings twice in his career and 160 innings once, he showed in 2025 that he at least has a chance to be among the guys who could eat plenty of innings.
The rumors out there suggest that Cincinnati could look to move a starting pitcher in a trade so they could acquire some help on offense given that what they need may be out of their price range on the free agency market. If they do go that route then taking a longer look at bringing Littell back could make a lot more sense.
There are some concerns with Littell, too. His track record as a starting pitcher is rather short. His strikeout rate is low. And he gives up a lot of home runs. Plenty of contact and plenty of home runs in Great American Ball Park usually doesn’t go well. Some pitchers have been able to get away with that. Most haven’t. The upside doesn’t seem too high for Littell. The downside seems low, too, given the contact and home run rates in his profile.
Given the current roster construction of the Cincinnati Reds for 2026 it’s a tough sell to bring back Zack Littell. With what we all assume are limited funds being available and having the pitching depth that the team does have using money that will be available to the front office from ownership on starting pitching feels like it’s not the best use of resources to improve the weakness of the team they are bringing back.
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